Swedish black metal outfit Marduk will be embarking on a headlining tour of North America which will kick off in November. Support on the trek will come from Nachtmystium, Mantic Ritual, Merrimack and Black Anvil. The tour is in support of Marduk's forthcoming new studio album, "Wormwood" which is set to be released in North America on October 13th.

London based Australian blackened thrash metal act, Razor Of Occam, have confirmed to tour Europe in the fall with the grandmasters of American black metal, Absu! Nachtmystium and Zoroaster complete the vicious line-up that will rape and pillage clubs all over Europe, starting on October 16th.

Razor Of Occam's Metal Blade debut, Homage To Martyrs, is available everywhere and on metalbladestore.com.

“…an album built on barbaric fury, but it's focused in just the right places to make the ultra fast mayhem of songs like Heat of Battle and Altar of Corruption hit you like a scalpel to the eyeball, while avoiding sounding clean or sterilized.” 4 K rating, Kerrang

“…every song is a parade of top notch thrash and black metal composition.” MetalSucks.net

“Folks, Homage to Martyrs descends on you like a grizzly in a phone booth; there's no escape as this thing is all slashing claws, gnashing teeth, and crushing weight…Homage to Martyrs boasts all the fiery hunger and immediacy of a new band, and the professional design and execution of old vets.” MetalReview.com

HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE will be embarking on an East Coast North American tour with LUDICRA this summer. Already having conquered the West Coast, where both bands have formidable live experience, the two bands are finally going to tread new ground within the East Coast. For those in Canada, there is going to be only one Canadian date on this tour. Hammers Of Misfortune will also be playing with Pentagram and Nachtmystium for an exclusive gig on July 2nd in their hometown.

Here are the latest Hammers Of Misfortune tour dates (with possibly a few more to be added): More...

US metal band, NACHTMYSTIUM, has issued the following update regarding their upcoming tour with Pentagram:

"It is with much honor to announce our upcoming mini-tour with US rock/doom legends PENTAGRAM! The tour kicks off right here in our neighborhood in Chicago and will take us to the West Coast and then down to Texas for six exclusive performances with this very influential band that's been around for nearly four decades in one form or another!" More...

Nachtmystium has revealed that their guitarist Jeff Wilson was almost killed last friday when a drive-by shooting took place in his neighbourhood. You can read the blog below:

"Last Friday (April 17th, 2009) at about 5:30 - 6:00 PM, Jeff Wilson left his apartment building here in Chicago (that Blake also has an apartment in) to head two blocks away to our neighborhood grocery store. On his way out, walking back down the small side street right near our building….an SUV comes flying around the corner of a small side street just south of where he was walking, two men hung out of the window and opened fire in Jeff’s general direction (and many other people, including children…) towards someone located behind where Jeff was walking.

"Fortunately, Jeff’s amazing ninja-style, bullet-dodging skills kicked in, instinctively, and he some how managed to escape what became a crossfire of bullets and made it home safely with his smokes and a 2 liter of Diet Coke. Although the Diet Coke was tempting to Jeff, as he was out of breath and parched with thirst after running his ass off from the onslaught of violence, Jeff opted for a can (or twelve) of High Life that he found in the fridge….and then enjoyed one of his cigarettes, which he fought for his life to have.

Illinois black metallers Nachtmystium have issued the following announcement about the release date for their upcoming EP:

"We're proud to announce that we've licensed our own new EP, "Doomsday Derelicts" from our N. American label, Century Media, to be released on our own in-house label Battle Kommand Records for release in North America! The CD will be at press shortly and we anticipate a release date of May 5th, 2009. This will be a limited edition release, and there will be a mail-order only version with additional items included. More news on those details will come soon....

"Cover art added in the "Misc." folder of our pictures session, since Myspace is refusing to let me add the picture into this blog currently for some reason...

Nachtmystium has announced that they have been forced to cancel their appearance supporting Swedish thrashers The Haunted after their frontman Blake Judd broke his leg. A message from the band reads as follows:

"Nachtmystium unfortunately had to cancel our slot co-headlining The Haunted’s U.S. / Canadian tour this coming April. Front-man Blake Judd had an accident and broke his leg last weekend and will be in a cast for the next twelve weeks and may need surgery. More news in the coming weeks…

"We’ve already rescheduled a U.S. / Canadian tour for June and are awaiting the “OK” from our booking representatives the announce the tour and dates.

"Sorry to anyone hoping to see us in April! After this whole bullshit fiasco with the Scion Rock Fest a few weeks back, and now this, it’s been one thing after the other around here. Fear not, we will be back soon enough…

As a result of Kylesa and Intronaut cancelling their appearances as the support for Swedish thrashers The Haunted to support Mastodon, The Haunted has revealed that Merauder will be stepping into the fold to support the band along with the previously announced additions of The Agonist and Nachtmystium.

Due to touring commitments, Intronaut will no longer be supporting Swedish thrashers The Haunted. Taking their place will be The Agonist who recently finished their new album, "Lullabies For The Dormant Mind." A message from the band reads as follows:

"We are so psyched and honored to be touring with The Haunted! It’s unbelievable that we will be playing on the same stage as a band that we would listen to in our bedrooms in high school and wished we could emulate. We are also extremely anxious to get back on the road in general and we are playing a lot of the same venues we have in the past so we hope to see some familiar faces out there! We’re also hitting a few new towns including central and western Canada…FINALLY!!!"

You can check out The Haunted, Nachtmystium and The Agonist on the following dates: More...

Metal group Nachtmystium has been removed by the organizers of the Scion Rock Fest after being accused of being a National Socialist band. A message from group member Blake Judd reads as follows:

“Nachtmystium has sad news today with a once-again recurring issue surfacing from the wake of our past. We’ve been forced, at the request of the promoters and the folks at Scion / Toyota, to pull out of the Scion Rock Fest, scheduled for Saturday, February 28. This news came to us just this past Tuesday and was very disheartening to say the least. A troubling, and unjustly-applied notion that we are, or ever have been, in any way, a ‘Nazi’ band or a political band on any level, is completely absurd and we are disgusted that there is someone out there who really believes we are of this ilk. It made it as far as the sponsors of this event’s desks, and now we are forced to pull out of it after some political threatening on the part of these ridiculously uneducated person/people who have caused this ruckus.

"We’d like to make light of at least one aspect of this situation and use the opportunity to once again clear the air - we are, IN NO WAY, a ‘Nazi’ band. We do NOT support such groups, political beliefs or bands that are affiliated with that world. We have canceled tours in the past and dodged working with bands and people BECAUSE they had these ideologies and we never wanted to be affiliated with it. Yet, here we are, a metal band whose members are more like hippies than your typical leather-clad metal maniacs, and we’re being falsely accused of this association once again. We will be taking legal action against the people who slandered us in this situation, and in the future will file defamation / slander charges against any person or organization who attempts to prevent us from performing anywhere, especially in the United States. We are as offended by this as someone might be at the notion of a Nazi band playing a big corporate-sponsored festival. So - let it be known loud and clear for the LAST TIME, we ARE NOT a Nazi band, ARE NOT political, are certainly NOT racists and DO NOT support that world or any band, person or business affiliated with it.

"My deepest apologies to all of our friends, fans and people who have worked on and supported us being a part of this festival, we are sorry for these awful circumstances and you can be certain this will not defeat us."

The Scion Rock Fest will take place on Saturday, February 28th at the Masquerade in Atlanta, Georgia. The show will go from noon until midnight and attendees must be at least 18 years old. The line-up is as follows:

MastodonNeurosisConvergeHigh on FireBoris1349CryptopsyTorcheNachtmystiumWolves in the Throne RoomBaronessHarvey MilkKylesaZoroasterWitheredKralliceToxic HolocaustSkeletonwitchRwakeA Storm of LightWarbringerSalomeSuidakraTyrAlestorm

After unexpectedly dropping off last month's Opeth/High On Fire tour, psychedelic black metallers Nachtmystium are gearing up for a short U.S. tour with Portland's elusive Wolves in the Throne Room. More...

Nachtmystium has cancelled the remainder of their tour dates with Opeth and High On Fire. Here's a statement from the band:

"Due to some issues beyond our control, we've been forced to pull off of the Opeth/High On Fire tour. We're aggressively working to try to get things together for the 2nd leg of our fall tour starting in Los Angeles on October 8th with Wolves in the Throne Room.

"We apologize to anyone who was hoping to see us on the Opeth leg of the tour. Thanks to all of those who came out in support at the shows that we did manage to play, it was great seeing you maniacs out!"